First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of research analysts have commented on FFBC shares. Stephens assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,556,110. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,984.50. The trade was a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,706 shares of company stock worth $932,372. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,526 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $30.46 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $22.93 and a twelve month high of $31.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.94.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.